Walworth County: CWD Positive Deer Found Outside Eradication Zone

Waukesha, Wis. Ongoing surveillance by the state Department of Natural Resources has detected a chronic wasting disease (CWD) positive deer outside of the Disease Eradication Zone (DEZ), the state agency announced today.

The deer was found in Walworth County in the CWD Herd Reduction Zone (HRZ), an area covering all or part of 19 counties that serve as a buffer between the smaller DEZ and the rest of the state.

The four-to-five year old buck was shot by a gun hunter on the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine within a mile of a positive deer shot just outside the Kettle Moraine Unit in 2004.

“After we have had an opportunity to look at all the test results from our surveillance efforts this fall and winter we will be able to begin thinking about our management response in the future,” noted Alan Crossley, wildlife biologist and CWD project leader with the Department..

The DNR biologist pointed out that “we are seeing the benefits of mandatory head collection in Walworth County and elsewhere in terms of building up the sample sizes associated with our surveillance.

“We appreciate the cooperation of hunters and landowners in this area who brought deer in to be sampled for CWD this fall,” he added.

Since 2002, nearly 100,000 wild whitetail deer have been tested statewide for CWD. To date, 557 deer have tested positive. Of these all but 13 were detected in the DEZ, and these were killed in the HRZ.

The eastern DEZ covers 462 square miles and includes roughly the southeast quarter of Rock County, almost half of Walworth County and a small section of Racine County.

Persons interested in the latest information on CWD in Wisconsin can visit the DNR Web site at: dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/whealth/issues/CWD/index.htm